A Debt Repaid
by Ariana Deralte
Summary: Myouga has a request of Sesshomaru...


A/N: Consider this happening somewhere in between Kagome and Inuyasha's first encounter with Sesshomaru and their encounter with Shippo. 

Disclaimer: I wish it was mine, but I'm not that lucky. It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

A Debt Repaid

Sesshomaru opened his eyes, aware that something was amiss. His paw came up in an automatic gesture, and a crunch was heard. Years of control prevented Sesshomaru from groaning.

"Myouga. To what do I owe this pleasure?" 

"Ah, Milord. Your blood reminds me so of your lord father…" Sesshomaru crushed the tiny youkai in between his fingers. There was a satisfying crunch.

"This probably reminds you of my lord father as well." Myouga popped up again, swaying woozily. 

"And my lord In…" Myouga's brain caught up with his mouth and he paused. "I'm sorry, Milord. I should have explained as soon as I woke you. Please forgive me." Sesshomaru nodded, curious as to what could have brought the flea so close to peril. There was a reason the old retainer didn't serve him, and that reason mostly involved his habit of killing his servants. 

"Continue."

"When Milord was at the tender age of thirteen, he went wandering despite his lord father's command. The journey did not quite turn out as milord expected." Sesshomaru's face was carefully blank. "It was left to milord's faithful retainer to resolve the many problems caused." He paused to look up at Sesshomaru. "Without milord's father's knowledge." The flea demon stopped speaking, and Sesshomaru understood what was expected of him. 

"What would you like of me?" The flea bounced eagerly to his shoulder, a relived look on its face. He told Sesshomaru what he wanted. Another crunch was heard. 

"No!" Myouga cowered against his palm. 

"Milord. If there was any other way I would not have involved you."

"What you ask in anathema to me," Sesshomaru said, his voice flat. Myouga began counting the seconds until his death. "But it is a poor lord who does not repay his debts. I can always undo it afterwards anyway." Sesshomaru emptied a container used for water onto the ground. Using one of his sharp nails, he sliced his wrist open carefully, than drained the blood neatly into it. Myouga watched silently, a look of greed upon his face. It was hard for a flea to see so much blood and resist the temptation. 

Sesshomaru finished and sealed up the blood. He handed the container to Myouga, trusting that the tiny youkai's powers would allow it to support such a large burden. "They are not to know, Myouga. I was never part of this, or you will regret it." Myouga nodded and bowed his thanks. Sesshomaru dismissed him from his mind. He would never admit it, but draining his blood like that had left him tired. He lay down again, and was quickly asleep.

******

Many miles away, Kagome stared in horror at Inuyasha. His horrible wounds, combined with a well placed spell, had overridden his own body's ability to heal. He would die soon if Myouga didn't get back with his supposed cure. She stroked Inuyasha's soft hair, where it was free of blood. He could be rude and obnoxious, but she would rather he be yelling at her now, than dying in front of her. 

Something moved beside her, and she jumped a foot into the air. 

"Myouga!" The flea was leaning heavily on a small container. She picked it up and stared at it.

"What's this?" She pulled the top off to look inside.

"No!" screamed the flea, leaping up to block her view. "I must treat him alone Kagome, or all my effort will have been wasted." She was taken aback by his tone, and quickly nodded her assent.

"I'll just wait over there." She went across the clearing and sat with her back against a tree, facing politely away from them. Myouga waited until she was seated, then jumped into action. If Inuyasha were to wake, all would be lost. 

Myouga quickly located the deepest of the wounds and set to work. Lord Sesshomaru, despite his protests, was Lord Inuyasha's brother. If the potency of a family member's blood would not cure Inuyasha, than nothing would. Already, he could see the wounds beginning to knit, as the combined power of their blood overcame the spell. He worked quickly, than began the pleasant task of removing all the blood. If one drop of Lord Sesshomaru's blood were to remain, then Inuyasha would smell it. 

The moon had crossed most of the sky by the time he had finished, but Inuyasha lay sleeping quietly. Kagome had dropped off as well and Myouga allowed himself a chance to rest. Lord Sesshomaru would try to kill Inuyasha later, and perhaps one day he would succeed. But tonight, he had saved his brother's life. 

******

Thanks for reading. 


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